Improvements in and relating to cell harvesting apparatus

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a cell harvesting instrument suitable for concentrating cells from a source suspension of cells and/or washing said cells, the instrument comprising: a housing for accommodating mechanical elements including at least one fluid pump, at least one valve; and a processing kit removably insertable into the housing, said kit including a generally flat frame having or supporting plural sealed fluid paths arranged in a generally flat plane and such that fluids in the paths do not contact said mechanical elements, wherein at least portions of the fluid paths comprise flexible tubes, the outer surfaces of which are manipulateable by the or each fluid pump, to provide fluid flow in one or more of the paths and/or by the or each valve to restrict fluid flow in one or more of the paths. In an embodiment, the kit comprises also a fluid processing reservoir and a filter suitable for separating cells from fluid in said paths. A transfer mechanism for moving and weighing the fluid processing reservoir is disclosed also.

FIELD

This invention relates to cell harvesting apparatus, to the improvedfunctioning of such apparatus, and to improvements in the componentsthereof.

BACKGROUND

Effective harvesting of cells from various sources is required fordifferent therapeutic applications, such as cell therapy, or tissueengineering. The examples of therapeutic applications include but arenot limited to autologous or allogeneic transplantation of stem cells,transplantation of matured functional cells, T cells, modified humancells including T cells, or xenotransplantation of non-human cells. Theapplications facilitate healing of the damaged tissue or an organ, byregenerating cells to improve the condition of a diseased state.

For translational research, which facilitates the development andimplementation of scientific discoveries to prevent, diagnose, and treatdisease using state-of-the-art technologies, a range of potential celltypes require isolation prior to modification, activation, and/orexpansion. To meet this translational market need, the cells are firstrequired to be concentrated and washed to remove any impurities. Forpreserved cell applications, where previously separated mononucleatedcells (MNC) are stored in cryogenic temperatures after suspension inmedia containing preservatives such as dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), thecells need to be washed, typically through a dilution process, severaltimes to minimize the preservative's concentration beforere-concentrating and re-suspending the cells for use. Therefore, theprocessing of cryo-preserved cells is necessary before use in anyapplication, specifically for therapeutic application or researchpurposes.

For both of the examples, a suspension of such cells should be processedto concentrate and should be washed extensively to ensure highquality—herein, such concentration optionally including one or more washcycles is referred to as cell harvesting. Although various methods andsystems for harvesting cells are known in the art, the quality andquantity output of these systems are insufficient for therapeuticapplication. Therefore, systems and methods for harvesting cells underaseptic conditions not necessarily in large scale processing facilities,but with reduced infrastructure requirements and robust operationalefficiency, are highly desirable. In additional, equipment which issimple to operate and to maintain is desirable also.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Methods and devices for harvesting cells are described in patentapplication US2013/0029411, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference, and result in high quality cell samples, which aredevoid of significant residual impurities or preservatives. Thesemethods and devices resolve some of the problems associated with thecells used for translational applications or cells recovered fromcryogenic preserved cells.

An example of method of harvesting cells from a fluidic material in aprocessing loop as shown in US2013/0029411 comprises, a processingchamber and a filtering device wherein the fluidic material has a volumeand the processing chamber has an overall capacity, comprisescirculating the fluidic material through the processing loop andbalancing an influx of the fluidic material into the processing chamberwith a permeate flux of the filtering device to maintain the volume ofthe fluidic material in the processing chamber at a constant value,concentrating the cells by increasing the permeate flux of the filteringdevice relative to the influx of the fluidic material into theprocessing chamber; and collecting the concentrated cells in acollection chamber. Other examples of the method of harvesting cellsfrom a fluidic material in a processing loop are shown inUS2013/0029411.

In addition, embodiments of the cell harvesting devices are shownUS2013/0029411 comprising, for example, a processing loop comprising aprocessing chamber and a filtering device; a network of input and outputlines operatively coupled to one or more of a source chamber, bufferchamber, waste chamber and collection chamber, and a controller thatcontrols a mass of the processing chamber at a desired value based on aninflux and a permeate flux of the processing loop.

The inventors have devised improvements to the methods and devicesdisclosed in US2013/0029411, which have resulted in improved performanceand reliability, as well as reduced costs in the consumable parts of theimprovements. Embodiments of the invention address the shortcomings ofknown cell harvesting equipment. The invention is set out in theindependent claims herein, with preferred features defined in dependentclaims.

DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages will become betterunderstood when the following detailed description is read withreference to the accompanying drawings in which like charactersrepresent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a cell harvesting instrument together with its disposableprocessing kit;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of the disposable processing kitshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the processing kit in place in the instrument;

FIG. 4 shows a receiving rail mountable in the housing of the instrumentof FIG. 1 for guiding the processing kit into place in the housing;

FIG. 5 shows a processing kit receiving frame which is housed within thehousing of the instrument shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 6 to 10 show details of a peristaltic pump mountable in the frameshown in FIG. 5

FIGS. 11 and 12 show details of a pinch valve again mountable to theframe shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 13 shows a pictorial view of a processing reservoir transfermechanism; and

FIGS. 14 to 19 show side views of the transfer mechanism of FIG. 13, indifferent functional positions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To more clearly and concisely describe and point out the subject matterof the claimed invention, the following definitions are provided forspecific terms, which are used in the following description and theappended claims. Throughout the specification, use of specific termsshould be considered as non-limiting examples.

Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown a cell harvesting instrument 10,which in use functions to take in liquids which include suspended cellsor similar microbiological material, for the purpose of largelyseparating the cells from the liquid or reducing the liquid content ofthe suspension. The instrument can function to wash the cells etc. oneor more times to rid the separated cells of unwanted material. Apreferred functioning regime can be found in US2013/0029411.

The instrument 10 comprises a housing 12 which has a touch screen 14 anda door 16, shown closed and, in chain dotted lines, shown in an openposition 16′. The door 16 allows the insertion and removal of adisposable processing kit 100. The kit 100 is generally flat with aperipheral support frame 105 of thickness x′ in the x direction ofaround 30-40 mm. In other words, fluid paths 110 within the frame, andadditional components of the kit described below, lie substantially in agenerally flat, single, plane. The liquid paths 110, shown in chaindotted lines have, in this case, four inlets/outlets 122, 124, 126, and128. The fluid paths 110 are mostly constructed from medical gradetubing, for example PVC tubing. Other than those inlets/outlets 122-128,the fluid paths 110 are functional closed circuits, which are sealed,other than at vents which have filters containing sub-micron pore sizefilters to allow gases to escape, but to prevent ingress ofcontamination. In particular, mechanical parts contained within thehousing 12, do not contact any fluids in the paths, thereby maintainingsterility of the paths in use. The frame 105 also includesthrough-apertures 120 and 130 which run from one side of the frame 105to the other, providing regions where the tubes of the fluid paths whichpass across the apertures can be manipulated from both sides of theframe by said mechanical parts. Where the fluid paths cross theapertures, these tubes need to be flexible, and so these tubes arepreferably formed from silicon tubing.

The kit 100 further includes a tangential flow filter 140, and adetachable process reservoir 150, in this case in the form of a mouldedplastics container. The processing kit 100 is inserted into and removedfrom the housing 12 in the direction of arrow y.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the processing kit 100 and shows the layout ofthe fluid paths 110 within the support frame 105, and its externalconnections which in practice are made externally of the housing 12 whenthe kit 100 is inserted into the housing 12 in use. The kit 100 onceinserted, is connected to a buffer/wash liquid supply 123, to a sourceof suspended cells or similar biological material 125, to a wastecollection 129 and to a harvesting collection chamber 127, each by meansof a respective sterile connector 122, 124, 128 and 126. In thealternative, any of the buffer supply 123, source 125, waste collection129, and harvesting collection chamber 127 can be pre-connected to thefluid paths 110. In practice, extended respective fluid connectiontubing is coiled close to the frame 105 initially, terminating in saidbuffer supply 123, source 125, waste collection 129, and/or harvestingcollection chamber 127, and the extended tubing is uncoiled to be fedoutside of the housing 12 once the kit 100 is inserted into the housing.The through aperture 120 allows a pumping action to be exerted on fluidswithin the flexible tubular paths 120 a, 120 b, 120 c and 120 d whichcross the aperture. Likewise, the through aperture 130 allows thetubular paths 130 a and 130 b that cross that aperture to be pinched toprovide a valve action. The processing reservoir 150 acts as fluidholding chamber and is part of the recirculating loop, through which thecell-containing fluid actively recirculates during most of theconcentration and washing process performed by the instrument 10. It isimportant to determine the total volume/mass of fluids in the wholeprocessing loop, which includes the fluid paths 110, the filter 140 andthe processing reservoir 150. That total will vary in use because, forexample, the amount of waste fluid taken away and the amount of bufferadded will alter the total volume. However, since all components exceptthe processing reservoir 150 have a fixed working volume, the variablemass in the processing reservoir 150 is all that needs to be measured todetermine the total processing loop volume/mass. Thus, the reservoir 150includes a hanger 152 which allows its weight to be measured and therebythe total fluid volume/mass can be determined.

FIG. 3 shows a part of the frame 105 inserted into the housing 12. Inthis instance the frame includes guiding formations for example I theform of pegs, or ribs 112 top and bottom which locate slideably in anopen ended groove 23 formed in a top guide rail 22 supported by a rigiddevice frame 20 within the housing 12, to slideably support and locatethe kit 100.

In FIG. 4 a bottom guide rail 24 is shown which also includes a groove25 to accept pegs or a rib (not shown) on the bottom of the frame 105.The processing kit 100 is loaded into the housing 12. The bottom guiderail 24 and a top rail (22 FIG. 5), both have grooves that interfacewith respective pegs or ribs on the processing kit. The lower peg or riband groove are wider than the top for two reasons: a) to make it obviousto the user which end is the top and to prevent incorrect insertion offrame 105, and b) to make it easier to clean the lower rail in the eventof a processing kit leak. To aid cleanup, the bottom guide rail 24 haslarge radii and is dish shaped to catch any leakage. An adjustableroller detent feature (not shown) provides user tactile feedback toalert the user to stop pushing the processing kit into the housing.

FIG. 5 shows the device frame 20 in more detail, with the housing 12removed for clarity. The direction of insertion of the kit 100 is shownby arrow, so the device frame 20 is viewed in this illustration from therear of the housing 12 shown in FIG. 1. The device frame 20 comprisestwo plates 26 held in spaced relation by spacer fixings 28. The top andbottom guide rails 22 and 24 run in parallel each mounted to both of thetwo spaced plates 26. Also mounted to the plates are a shoe 30 forreacting the forces of a peristaltic pump rotor (described in moredetail below) and an anvil to react forces exerted by a pinch valve(described in more detail below). The shoe 30 and anvil 32, in use alignwith the through apertures 120 and 130 respectively.

FIG. 6 shows the device frame 20, and pivotably mounted on the frame viaa pivot 42, a pump assembly 40. The pump assembly in use, with theprocessing kit inserted into the housing 12 between guide rails 22 and24, is pivoted in the direction of arrow R about pump pivot 42, relativeto the stationary frame 20, to interact with the flexible tubes 120a,b,c and d as well as the flexible tubes 130 a and b, using the shoe 30and anvil 32 as reaction faces. Additional alignment is effected byguide pins 48 rigidly mounted to the assembly 40. The pump assembly 40interfaces with a processing kit 100 to selectively pump fluid throughthe fluid paths 110 with, in this instance, a peristaltic action. Theassembly 40 includes a 3 state pinch valve to direct the flowappropriately by the use of cams which compress and close thecooperating flexible tubes. The pump and valve, each described in moredetail below, are supported on the frame 20 such that operational forcesare isolated from the surrounding housing. Disengagement of the pump andvalve is effected by pivoting in a direction opposite to arrow R, priorto removal of a used processing kit 100.

FIG. 7 shows the pump assembly in more detail, removed from the frame20, and viewed in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 6. In this view, fourpump heads 44 a, 44 b, 44 c and 44 d are visible, which interact withthe flexible tubes 120 a,b,c and d respectively. The heads are eachformed from sets of rollers each mounted for rotation about a rollerpin, and each pin mounted for rotation about a pump axis P, therebyforming the head of a peristaltic pump. The four heads share the samepump axis P but can be rotated independently by four different servotype motors 46 acting on drive belts to provide controlled andreversible fluid pressure differentials in the fluid paths 120 a to d.The pivoting of the whole pump assembly 40 into a pumping position iseffected by an electrical actuator 44 mounted to the assembly 40 andreacting against the frame 20. During the movement of the pump assemblyinto an operative position, guide pins 48 cooperate with complementaryformations on the processing kit support frame 105, so that the kit andpump heads are aligned more accurately than relying only on the guiderails 22 and 24. The pump heads have six generally evenly spaced rotors,which when engaged against a shoe 30 of approximately 70° arc providesat least one roller always in contact with the shoe, thereby preventingreverse fluid flow and fluid flow if the pump is not turning.

The pump assembly is shown in yet more detail in FIG. 8, where each ofthe four pump drive motors 46 are visible along with one of the tootheddrive belts 47 and tension screws 49, used to impart tension in thedrive belts 47. The drive belts' pulleys are sized to provideapproximately a 2:1 reduction in speed of the motor at the pump head.

FIG. 9 shows another view of the pump assembly. In this view the pumphead 44 d is shown. It will be observed that this pump head is widerthan the other pump heads in the pump axis direction P. This wider pumphead 44 d allows two or more flexible tubes to be engagedsimultaneously, thereby providing increased fluid flow if required. Thiswider head arrangement allows a processing pump flow rate of up to 3000mL/min at around 280 rpm motor speed.

FIG. 10 shows the pumps heads 44 a,b,c and d. As labelled, it can beseen that the four heads function to circulate fluid from the processingreservoir 150, to the filter 140, and back to the reservoir or to acollection point 127 (head 44 d acting on tube 120 d), to bring in cellsin suspension from the source 125 (head 44 c acting on tube 120 c), tobring in buffer/wash solution 123 (head 44 b acting on tube 120 b) andto remove waste permeate 129 from the filter 130 (head 44 a acting ontube 120 a). As mentioned above, from speedier processing more than onetube 120 may be provide for each pump head, thus wider head 44 d may inother arrangements act on more than one tube 120.

FIG. 11 shows a pinch valve assembly 50 which is mounted underneath thepump motor 464 and pump head 44 and pivots into position ready foroperation together with the pump assembly 40. The pinch valve assembly50 closes and opens process and collection fluid paths by pinching thetubes 130 a and 130 b against the anvil surface 32. The assemblyincludes a single linear actuator 55 which includes an electric steppermotor 56, for rotatably driving a lead screw 58 both clockwise andcounterclockwise, which in turn moves a carriage 57 linearly back andforth in the direction of arrow C on a rail 53. The carriage 57 includestwo rollers 54 a and 54 b, which act on cam profiles 51 a and 51 bformed on the back of two spring loaded valve arms 53 a and 53 b. Thearms 53 a and 53 b are urged against the respective rollers 54 a and 54b. The arms have fingers 52 a and 52 b, the tips of which press againstthe tubes 130 a and 130 b aligned in the valve's operative position withthe anvil 32. The cam profiles 51 a and 51 b have ‘open’ portions (58 aand 58 b) which allow fluid flow and ‘closed’ portions (59 a and 59 b)which prevent substantial flow. Since the fingers are arranged inopposite orientations, the sequence of open and closed positions for thetwo fingers is: 130 a closed, 130 b open (the position shown in FIG.11); 130 a closed, 130 b closed (at the mid-position of carriage 57);and 130 a open, 130 b closed (at the rightmost position of the carriage57 when viewed in the same direction of view as illustrated in FIG. 11).It will be noted that no power is needed to hold the arms in the open orclosed positions, because such positions may need to be maintained forlong periods of time during possessing. It should also be noted that anopen/open position is deliberately not possible to prevent unwantedfluid flows.

FIG. 12 shows a horizontal cross section through the anvil 32, throughthe valve arms 53 a and 53 b and through carriage rollers 54 a and 54 b,which in this view are in their mid-position, such that both fingers 52a and 52 b are acting to compress and thereby close flexible tubes 130 aand 130 b (shown schematically in this illustration). It will be notedthat the starting positions of the tubes is also illustrated. In orderthat the thickness of the processing kit frame 105 can be accommodated,the fingers 52 a and 52 b are initially retracted (along with the pumpheads), and are only brought into a position ready to operate bypivoting forward of the pump assembly 40 once the processing kit 100 isin place. Then the fingers operate by opening or closing the tubesaccording to an operation protocol. The valve assembly 50 can beadjusted initially independently of the position of the pump assembly40, so that the correct pinch load can be obtained.

FIG. 13 shows a transfer mechanism 60 housed within the housing 12 fortransferring the processing reservoir 150 of the processing kit 100 ontoa weighing hook 62 so that the volume of liquids in the reservoir can beestimated in use. In practice the mechanism 60 removes the reservoir 150from the processing kit support frame 105, transfers it to hook 62,which is supported by a load cell 61 where it will stay for the durationof a processing run, and then returns the reservoir 150 to the supportframe 105. The processing reservoir 150 is mounted on the support frame105 as supplied to the user and inserted into the housing in that state.It is reattached to the support frame before the user removes theprocessing kit from the housing. During a run, the process reservoir andconnected tubing will hang freely on the load cell hook to enable massmeasurement.

The motion of the mechanism 60 is controlled by one stepper motor 64 anda lead screw 66 which directly controls X direction movement of a rearcarriage 65, travelling on a linear rail 68 as the lead screw 66 isrotated by the motor 64. The rear carriage 66 supports an extensionshaft 73 that moves with the carriage 66. The shaft 73 has a distal end71 which includes a profiled head 72 (FIG. 14). A front carriage 70 ismoveable on the rail 68 also, but is not driven by the lead screw.Rather its movement is controlled by movement of the profiled head 74and explained in more detail below.

The mechanism 60 starts in the position shown in FIG. 14, which is aside view in the direction of arrow y in FIG. 5. That position allowsfor insertion of the processing kit 100 into the housing 12, and bringsthe hanger 152 of the processing reservoir into an alignment with themechanism 60. The hanger 152 includes two resilient arms 154 which sitin supporting apertures in the processing kit frame 105. In this initialposition the hanger arms support the processing reservoir and keep itresiliently in place on the frame 105. On the hanger 152, above the armsis a further aperture 156 which accepts the hook 62.

The rear carriage 65 is then driven in the positive X-direction as shownin FIG. 15. This movement ultimately pushes the profiled head 72 into alatch arrangement which has a pair of sprung expansion arms 75. Thespring force required to open the expansion arms 75 is such that theexpansion arms remain closed and the front carriage 70 is driven forwardin the positive X direction also as shown in FIG. 15. The front carriage70 is driven forward in this way until it reaches a hard stop formed bythe reservoir clip on the support frame, as shown in FIG. 16. The frame105 cannot move because it is being held in place by the upper and lowerguides of the guide rails 22 and 24. Thus, the rear carriage continuesto move forward while the front carriage is stopped, causing theprofiled head 72 to force apart the expansion arms 75 apart and intolatching cooperating engagement with the resilient arms 154 of thehanger 152. In this position the expansion arms distort the resilientarms to release their grip on the hanger 152, and the hook 62 enters theaperture 156.

Next, as shown in FIG. 17, the rear carriage is driven by the motor 64and leadscrew 68 in the negative X direction, thereby detaching thehanger 152 from the frame 105, and moving the hanger 152, with thereservoir 150 away from the frame 105.

The front carriage 70 is dragged backwards until it hits a stop. In thisposition the hanger 152 drops onto the load cell hook 62. The rearcarriage 65 continues moving and the profiled head 72 is pulled out frombetween the expansion arms 75, thus returning them to their neutralposition shown. At this point the hanger 152 is no longer held in placeby the expansion arms and therefore slides down the load cell hook 62,finally bringing weight to bear on the load cell 61. The rear carriage65 is now back to its initial, home position, and no parts of themechanism, apart from the hook 61 touch the reservoir 150, or its hanger152.

Returning the reservoir 150 to the frame 105 is carried out by reversingthe steps described above. The front carriage 70 reaches a stop when thehanger 152 is flush against the support frame 105, with the supportframe 105 held in place by the upper and lower guides 22 and 24. Therear carriage 65 continues to drive forward and pushes the expansionarms apart. This step ensures that the hanger 152 is properly located inthe Z-dimension and that the resilient arms 154 are met with noresistance passing through their apertures on the frame 105. This actionis different from the reservoir retrieval described above; the profiledhead 72 is driven past the ends of the expansion arms 75, as shown inFIG. 18.

In this position, the hanger 152 will be securely reattached to thesupport frame 105 and the expansion arms 75, profiled head 72, and loadcell hook 62 can be extracted. The rear carriage 65 drives backwards,dragging the front carriage 70 with it. The front carriage 70 reaches astop while the rear carriage 65 continues moving backward. This allowsthe profiled head to be pulled through the expansion arms 75 once againand reset for a new process kit and new processing reservoir, as shownin FIG. 19.

In operation, the instrument 10 includes mechanical elements includingthe pump, pinch valve and weighing mechanisms described above, which arereusable, together with a removeable and disposable low cost processingkit 100 which comprises all the fluid elements (e.g. paths 110, filter140 and fluid processing reservoir 150) necessary for cell harvesting.The combination of these features results in a cell harvestinginstrument which is easy to use and can be readied for the nextharvesting batch quickly. No mechanical parts come into contact withfluids, which means that cleaning of the mechanical parts betweenharvesting is not required. The instrument 10 is particularly suitablefor concentrating and/or washing human cells, for example for subsequentuse in cellular therapeutic applications where the readily achievableaseptic operating conditions of the instrument provide a much improvedchance of therapeutic success, as well as reduced costs and turn-aroundtimes.

While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed herein, many modifications and changes will occur to thoseskilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appendedclaims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fallwithin the scope of the invention. Further, it is intended thatcombinations of features contained in dependent claims are so combinedfor convenience, and any one or more of those combined features may beremoved, replaced or moved into other claims without introducing newmatter.

1. A pinch valve mechanism operable to pinch a flexible tube against areaction surface, the mechanism comprising at least one pivotable armincluding on one side a finger to perform said pinching and on anopposing side a cam profile, and a linearly moveable actuator in useacting on the or each cam profile to move an associated finger.
 2. Themechanism of claim 1, wherein the at least one pivotable arm comprises afirst arm and a second arm each operable to pinch a different tube, andwherein the first and second arms share the same actuator.
 3. Themechanism of claim 2, wherein the cam profiles of the first and secondarms are the same or similar in profile but opposed in orientation suchthat when the finger of the first arm provides a pinching action thefinger of the second arm provides no pinching action, and vice versa. 4.The mechanism of claim 3, wherein the opposed cam profiles of the firstand second arms have a common mid-position at which both fingers providea pinching action.
 5. A pinch valve including a pinch valve mechanism ofclaim 1, and a reaction surface arranged to oppose the force of saidpinching.
 6. The pinch valve of claim 5, wherein the pinch valve ismounted to a pivotable assembly for movement into, and out of, anoperative position.
 7. A cell harvesting instrument, including a pinchvalve of claim
 1. 8. A pinch valve including a pinch valve mechanism ofclaim 2, and a reaction surface arranged to oppose the force of saidpinching.
 9. A method for at least one of concentrating and washingcells, the method comprising, using a cell harvesting instrument ofclaim 7 for conducting the at least one of concentrating and washingcells.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the cells are human cells. 11.Cells obtainable by the method of claim 9.